Hold the nib to a light and look to see if there is a 15 degree cant to the nib tip. Would normally be a left foot....canted down to the left.

Either way, the semi-flex nib will be a lot of fun.

Don't push the nib more than 3 X tine spread over a light down stroke...........regular flex, semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex are in a 3X max tine set.

You need to go to Richard Binder's com, it is the Bible of fountain pens, nibs, filling systems, good advice on inks and many beautiful pens. It will take you some three days to read through.

There is an important article of metal fatigue from over stressing a nib.........especially with the even more flexible nibs.

After you get some experience, you will find you can find the limit to which a nib expands. In superflex a couple of pens from now, if a pen will max at a certain thing....such as my Pelikan 100n (A pen I never expected to own) it will go 5 X a light down stroke.....I strive to never take it above 4 X.

At first ...I am assuming you have a heavy hand....most do when getting into fountain pens, you will tend to max the tine spread often. After a while....took me three months, you press less and less.

A fine poster said, normal stubb and CI are 100% line variation, semi-flex (which is a stub nib) is line variation on demand.

The main trick to a lighter Hand, is to hold the fountain pen lightly, like a featherless baby bird.....

Don't make baby bird paste.

As mentioned before when posted the medium long pen is as long as a posted standard sized 400. The cap is longer so it posts longer.....same with the 100/100n and Ibis.

Posted the 140/400/600 have great balance.

I have a green stripped OB and a black OF...but my OF is easier to see that it is Oblique.

Attached Images

A tip,.... in it in OF and OM requires a more precise nib to paper placement than OB.....to make the pen cant automatically so you don't have to worry about it. Align the clip when you post the cap so it is right in between the slit and the right hand edge of the nib.

Then grasp the pen, not looking at the nib but at the clip. When you put the nib to paper it will be aligned with the paper, and you just write................instead of any fiddling around trying to find the sweet spot.

If you don't cant the nib, it will be scratchy..........aligning the clip first makes canting the nib easy.

We ...well most of us were 'noobies' and were given good advice by others, so it's expected to spread what we have learned.

Just want you to have fun...and not think the nib is scratchy, due to not canting the nib the right amount.

Nor see semi-FLEX and think the nib can do Olympic Splits. ..SEMI-flex....almost, will give you that old fashioned fountain pen flair with out you having to do anything special once you have the right angle of cant, as you place the nib on the paper.

Hi and welcome to FPN.Nice pen there. It's a Pelikan 140 from the first release from 1952-1955. This pens came only in solid colors:(gray is missing on the picture and the black with chrome trim is a later variant.)The nib seems correct to me. The so called "Logo nib" has been introduced in 1954. From 1952-1954 both, Pelikan 140 and Pelikan 400 were fitted with this plain script nibs as yours.The Pelikan 140 has been the basic line or budget variant of Pelikan at this time. It's remarkeable smaller than the 400. Have a look at my size comparison:The famous green striped variant of the Pelikan 140 has been introduced in 1955.The engraving on the filling knob marks the nib size. OM means Oblique Medium.I wouldn't say this pen is rare, although it's not the most common variant. The most common is surely the green striped. Black ones can be found easily, also red and green ones appears from tome to time. With luck you will also find a blue one. Very uncommon is the color gray because it was manufactured only for a very short peroid. But really rare examples are Tortoise, the red striped or yellow Pelikan 140.Hope this helps. Enjoy your pen!

+1 for the statement about the plain script nib. I have one on one of my 400. All my 140s have the logo nibs, though. But then I don't have any of the solid color 140s.

'54 was the start of putting Pelikan on the cap ring. I have a transition 400, that has that and no size on the piston cap....size of the nib on the nib........like I think the 400n had, and the 400nn has.

So your 140 is '52-53 or mid way into 54.

My older 400's have no nib size on the nib, no Pelikan marking on the cap ring and size was marked on the piston cap. Same for my post war Ibis...........my post war 100n, has no size marking on the piston cap either.

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